I Have No Mouth, So Please Scream For Me
by Jysrin
Summary: Taylor Hebert triggers in the car accident that took her mother's life. This being Taylor Hebert... well, it only spells bad things for everyone. Note: The Horror tag is primarily there because of the Lovecraft Mythos in here.
1. Chapter 1: That is Not Dead

Silence 1.1

* * *

It's odd how days that start off so well can go so wrong.

 _Two strange worms coil through the endless Void in a dance of eternities._

Take, for example, the Hebert family car.

It was a rather generic car, though at the moment…

It was completely, totally wrecked.

Flames wreathed the destroyed automobile, providing a constant haze of smoke and noise, while the screams and pleads of the two occupants inside added to the hellish scene.

 _One asks, Destination. And the other halts its dance and asks in return, Choice._

Annette Rose Hebert struggled and gasped weakly, pinned against the driver's side door. Blood ran freely down her face as she tried and failed to get loose. Beside her in the passenger seat, her daughter, Taylor Anne Hebert, fared marginally better.

"M-mom… help…" Taylor sobbed, coughing weakly. Smoke was filling the car at an alarming pace, and though the far off sound of sirens was getting closer, both knew in their hearts that the EMTs wouldn't make it in time.

"Taylor… Taylor look at me…" Annette gasped, reaching out and grasping Taylor's shoulder, "Be strong Taylor… everything will be okay…"

 _Agreement, they proclaim. And a strange object falls through space, looming in the mind's eye like a falling planet._

Taylor hiccuped, waking from her momentary daze and swiftly forgetting the stars that danced before her eyes. Annette continued offering soft words of comfort, even as darkness began creeping through both of their fields of vision.

One of their fields of vision.

Annette gasped, seeing Taylor begin changing before her very eyes, a cocoon of shadows forming around her, even though Taylor took no notice of her new abilities. Annette smiled sadly, knowing that her daughter would be able to protect herself after all.

 _Panic fills both creatures as a twisted_ ò͖̣̳̩̯̮͟͝ţ̴̶͚͚̗̪͍̱̹̙h̠̗̮̯͖e̸̵͙͉̟̺̟̬͖r̷̯̀͢ _reaches out with an eldritch tendril and spears the planetoid, infecting it with blackness and horror._

"M-mom...? Mom! Wake up! Mom, please!" Taylor screamed, watching the light fade from her mother's eyes. "Mom…? No…. No! No no no! Mom please! Wake up!"

Taylor struggled to wrench herself from her seat, the crumpled, heated metal around her enclosing her and preventing her from doing more than grasping her mother's dead shoulders.

But it was enough.

As soon as Taylor's hands came upon her mother's corpse, the faint light that suffused her form faded in Taylor's eyes and a strange feeling of _s͔͡u̡̡̙̼̻̪̣ͅc̶̛͉͓̭̙͇͖͚͢t̷҉̣i͓͕̣̭̞̣͙͙͠ǫ̗̟͡n̷͏̧̲̙̤̟̝_ flooded through Taylor's arms and into her chest, creating a warm, pulsating sensation that filled Taylor with unexpected strength.

 _Shub Niggurath smiles to itself as it watches its Dark Young spread her corruption and mingle it with the planetoid as it connects to its original host._

Outside the burning wreckage of the Hebert family car, the crowd of worried onlookers and EMTs flinch back in surprise when a shrieking, eldritch wail of despair echoes through the area and the car itself _explodes_ into a mass of flailing shadowy tendrils that snuff out the flame like it wasn't even there.

When the wail and the shadows finally died down, everyone immediately saw the form of a young girl in tattered rags over a crisp business suit sobbing over the partially burned and crushed corpse of her mother.

* * *

"Get out of my way, dammit! Let me through!" Danny Hebert roared, pushing through the crowd of onlookers and rushing past the police cordon and over to his still sobbing daughter.

He slid to a halt and felt his world slip out from beneath him, dropping him to his knees as he looked upon the form of his dead beloved wife, still unable to be pried from his daughter's… unnaturally… pale… hands.

"Oh Annette…" he whispered, running his hand through her hair, tears clouding his vision. His throat constricted as he slammed his fists into the ground, heart and soul shattering as he screamed and screamed and screamed, cursing the world, cursing himself, and above all, cursing that _damnable_ device that had inadvertently caused Annette's untimely demise.

Silently, so silently that he almost didn't notice, Taylor reached out and grasped Danny's hand and pulled him into a tight hug, burying her face into her chest as she sobbed.

"S-she tol-told me that it was gonna be okay…." Taylor hiccuped, the shadows around her lengthening and writhing in time with each choked half breath that she took.

Danny said nothing, only clutching Taylor closer to his chest, ignoring everything as he cried and whimpered, even to the point that the EMTs had to physically pry the two grieving family members apart.

This was a mistake.

"Let me _**Ģ͚̽̿̽͟O̡͙̙̗̲ͤͬ̉̈́ͭ̒̃͘!̪̭̪͓͍͖͎̔̒̒̄ͯ̍͂͑**_ " Taylor screamed, thrashing and flailing angrily, effortlessly tearing her way out of the EMTs' grips and engulfing them with shadow. As she turned around and spotted their panicked forms, she gasped, horrified, and caused the shadows to recede, leaving the EMTs shivering on the ground, both of them scarred for life.

"N-no… no no no no no…." Taylor mumbled, staring down at her hands, heedless of the surprised and almost frightened stare of her father and the now suddenly wary gazes of the crowd still assembled.

"T-Taylor…?" Danny gasped, slumped over in the grips of his pair of EMTs.

Taylor whirled around, eyes wide open and blood draining out of her already pale face. "Oh no… no no no… oh god no!" She ran, shaking her head as her body began changing once more, trying not to remember how the two EMTs she had engulfed had _lost the light filling them_ just from her reaction.

With a final panicked push, she instinctively leaped into the shadow of a nearby building…

And she vanished from the face of the Earth.

* * *

Far above the surface of the Earth, a silent, angelic figure stilled and turned towards Brockton Bay.

And promptly fled to the other side of the planet, prompting a massive wave of alerts all over the world as just about near everyone with sensors trained on the Simurgh simultaneously burst into frenzied, panicked action.

* * *

Welcome to the rewrite of "I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream"!

I'd like to think that it's a _little_ better.

Haha, I still don't know what I'm doing.


	2. Chapter 2: Which Can Eternal Lie

Silence 1.2

* * *

There is something to be said about the conditions of the dank underworld of Brockton Bay. Underneath the city lies a massive expanse of piping and concrete, a smoothly interconnected mass of storm drains and sewage pipes, with a bit of cabling here and there to properly wire in the failing lighting system.

It is here that the newly triggered Taylor Hebert takes a moment to stop and think.

' _What have I done!?'_ she thought to herself, her emotional distress causing the lights to flicker even more sporadically as the shadows around her hungrily consumed any and all light that they came in contact with.

She huddled in on herself, shivering quietly as black, caustic tears hissed from her eyes and fell to the concrete floor, burning through it and leaving spots of strange blackness where they fell. Taylor took notice of this, more preoccupied with the thoughts of how she had stolen the light of her _mother_ and those two EMTs. In her heart, she knew it was more than just light, not even life force, but the _minds and souls_ of those she had affected.

She could feel them burning inside of her, the very fabric of her being leeching out the power in the souls and consuming it to fuel… _s̶̨̮̜̝͓̳̣̗ͅo͉̳͎͚̟̻̳̣ͅm͕͚͈͕̮̱̫͡͝e̢̖͚t͕̳̮͈h̨͖͎͎̹̥̠͢i̶͇̭̳̫͕n̢̻͇̫̥͍͝g̜̺̻̥̼̹͘_.

Whatever it was, she knew it was only going to be all sorts of unpleasant.

A wave of nausea wracked Taylor's form as the first soul- that of her mother's, she wept- broke down into a mass of glittering particles and suffused her with comforting warmth, the scent of freshly printed books and homemade dinners flooding through her mind and bringing a fresh wave of black, caustic tears from her eyes.

Though, even as the warmth swirled around her, her vision blurred, and her face felt numb. "W-wh̴a͞t͢'̕s̶ ͡g͠oing̡ ̨o͜n̴!͏?" she whispered to herself, patting at her face frantically. No answer came forth, only gradual and steady darkening of her vision, until with a last gasp of futility, her mouth sealed closed and her breath was stolen away, delivering her into the dark unconsciousness of the deepest pits.

 _"̡̫͔͈̜͎̠̾͊͟͝.̡̗̻̣̺͊̔͞.̵̮̲̞̄͌̏̀ͦ.̨̹̠̟̭̣̮͓̖̎͛̽ͮ̇͂̍̋́ ̫͓͕̇̄̽̓͂̊̽́͝Ḩ̰̗ͦͨͥ̿͊e̛̳̥̬̗̮ͥ͒̓̋̅́͋ͭ͝l̞͕̪̰̠͕̬̣̗͒͆ͫ̎̀̚͞͡p̒ͫ̀͐ͫ͗ͣ̎͑͏̧͉̤̥̖̭͕ ̗̲̼ͪ̐ͩ̏ͬ̏́́̚̚m̧͓̹̠̺̳̊̏̾̐e̴̵̞͈͎͛ͦ̓̿̄!"̝͕̠̖̦̱̰͌̈ͬͧ͛ͤ͌́̕͞_

* * *

Danny Hebert sat alone in his home, contemplating his existence while turning a picture of his wife and daughter over in his hands.

It was a family portrait, and the smiling faces held within only served as a stark contrast to the roiling pit of despair he felt curling in his gut now.

As he stared down, he became acutely aware of the fog in his glasses and the warm trails running down his face and pattering against the glass of the picture frame. He took off his glasses, blurring his vision and allowing his tears to fall freely.

And in the quiet gloom of the evening light, Daniel Hebert, loving father and husband, shattered to pieces.

 _Visions of a great celestial worm falling from the sky._

He screamed and screamed and screamed, sobbing incoherently in his rage and flinging away the framed photo, letting it shatter against the wall.

 _Objects of strange dimensions fly from its impact, splintering across reality and slamming home into the minds of feeble creatures, so tiny and miniscule in comparison._

Danny's rage grew in proportion to his despair, and as they fed off each other, so too did the frequency of his fumblings, his tripping, his stumbling. He weaved and bobbed as though drunk, alternating between enraged depression and hazy forgetfulness.

 _One object looms in the mind's eye, a shard of an entity vast and incomprehensible._

He stumbled and fell, gasping for breath even as he felt bits and pieces of himself go numb and _change_. Slowly, agonizingly, Danny Hebert fell apart.

 _Skittering swarms of chitin, reformation and disintegration. Disgusting creatures of eldritch make._

All that was left of Danny Hebert, father of Taylor Hebert and husband of the late Anne Hebert, was a carpet of confused and dazed beetles, aimlessly milling about the floor of the Hebert household.

 _K̠̲͕̯̪̩̦̍ą͐̍ͮ̃̔͏͙͎̤̺̠̝̹̜͍a̛̲̗̞̞̲̦̭͂̓̃́͋͊̓l̢͌͋͑͑̊̊̚̚҉̗̙̜̥̟̜̘͍u̡̡̘̱͉̞ͤͭ̔ͩ̍͂͌tͥ̇҉̻̰̟͚ ̶̴̺͔ͤ̔̈̋ͧͣ͟s͉̣̳͒ͨ̿̊m̵̦̯͕͚̥̞͍̩͙̓ͪ̐̉̾̃̓̓͟i͆̓ͣ͛ͦͨ̚͡͏̱̻l̢͎̣̘̟̎ͤ͛́̆ͫ̃e̵̜̲͓̥̣͍͈̠ͧş̬̳̫̟͖͕ͪ͌͆̀ ̨͙̖̟̤̜̇ụ̈̐́̚͢p̷͎͐ͯ̾̽͌o̴͉̞̎̇̑ͫ͞ň͍̱̭͗ͥ͆̃ͤ̒ ̨̖̤̼̺̣̈ͤ̄ͯ̂͂̿ͣ́t͉̝͇̱̠̘̫̯̔̚h̵̹̭̣ͬ͗̈ͯ͂ͬḛͨͥ̐̑͋̚e̛̗̫͎͉ͪ͑́͠._

* * *

In the depths of the Brockton Bay underground lay a seething mass of pulsating shadows and mutating flesh. It extended ravenous tendrils in all directions along the sewer and drainage lines, consuming biomass and souls with no regard as to the quality or physical content of the mass it so hungrily devoured.

The pustule of festering blackness throbbed as if to the beat of some massive heart, spilling ichor and smoke into the fetid waters it lay just off of. The sewage darkened into pure blackness, the infection spreading along the flow of water and halting it, compressing it into more biomass for the blob.

The corruption pulsed with thick veins, each one glowing a faint violet as slowly but surely, the inky black slime grew to fill the entire tunnel, blocking it off and sealing it save for the flow of sewage in the channel beneath. Then, even the sewage itself pulsed black and grew still, the flow of more sewage simply sinking into a shadowy aether and vanishing.

The mass of blackness pulsed once, twice, and grew still. Visibly warping the space around it, the mass shuddered and began tunneling through the ceiling of the drain system and to the surface, quickly breaching past and around the concrete, dirt, electrical lines, and other obstacles in its path.

When the black mass breached the surface, it was in the middle of a busy intersection, immediately causing a massive traffic jam as cars tried to swerve around the bulging spear of eldritch darkness and instead crashed into each other. Sirens began wailing in the distance while farther away, parahuman response teams received word that a strange black object had torn through the intersection at Coleman and Gauff and caused a ten car pileup.

* * *

" _H-hello…?"_

" _Who's there…?"_

" _It's dark….. I'm scared….."_

" _Mom…. mom where are you?"_

" _Is anyone there….? I can't see anything….."_

" _Please help me…."_

" _What's going on….? I can see something…."_

" _Light…? But…. it hurts… I don't want to go there…."_

" _No! No no no no no! Help me! Mom! Mommy help! Help!"_

" _H̨͍̯́ͫ̔̾̌̔̀Ȇ̶̀ͪͧͥ̅҉̹͕̯̭̹͓L̶͕̣͍͈̒͊̇̀̆̍͐͒P̷̢ͭͪͫ̿̋̌ͅ ̭ͯͮ͗ͬ͋̃ͦͫ́M̴̦͈̱̀̚̕E̶̦̲̥̖̭͍̘ͨ̂͋̀͗͆͡!"_

* * *

When the black mass opened, it opened as if a flower, four petals splitting open and revealing more and more layers of petals unfolding from within, each one just as black and subtly _wrong_ as the others.

After the first five layers, that changed. Immediately, the petals shifted from black to red, screaming out an inaudible whisper of inherent paradox that drove the curious onlookers quietly insane, dropping many of them to the ground as quietly gibbering and shivering lumps of insensate flesh. The lucky ones turned and ran from the blood rose growing from the street, shrieking in fear and insanity, unable to be calmed down until they passed out from exhaustion.

Then everything went still as a chilling presence exuded outwards from the flower and all but tinted the entire area with a dark air. The sunlight visibly waned, plants began to shrivel, and the temperature dropped until everyone's breaths puffed out in clouds of mist.

Childish giggles ran through the minds of everyone present, quiet at first, but growing louder and louder, gaining an eldritch tone to the words until it echoed loudly in each person's head, driving what few sane people there were left in the area to their knees, screaming until their throats gave out and turned their wails into but rasping whimpers.

And then everything stopped.

There, in the center of the flowering miasma, was a single movement. A twitch. A flicker. The miasma receded, reversing its effects until the flower was but a single blob of darkness. And there it held, solid. Silent. Unmoving and unnatural.

* * *

" _Taylor…."_

" _Taylor….."_

" _Taylor Taylor Taylor Taylor Taylor….."_

 _A thousand voices in the skittering darkness sound as one, bearing the guilty conscience of a man long broken._

" _Oh Taylor…."_

" _Taylor come back…"_

" _Don't leave, Taylor…."_

" _I love you kiddo, please don't run…"_

 _Crawling, skittering, roiling seas of thousands upon thousands of insects, black and shining, clicking and clattering and shrieking._

 _Onward and onward they rushed through the dark, dank tunnels of reality itself, trying and seeking out the beacon of not-light that shone out to them._

" _Find her…"_

" _Protect her…."_

" _Taylor Taylor Taylor Taylor…."_


End file.
